


The Citadel's Carousel

by stilljunhui (acyria)



Category: Stray Kids (Band), The Maze Runner Series - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Dystopia, Canon-Typical Violence, Dystopia, Government Conspiracy, Light Angst, M/M, Maze Runner elements, Mild Blood, Mind Control, Minor Character Death, Romance, Slow Build, maze runner - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-20
Updated: 2019-06-21
Packaged: 2020-05-15 09:01:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,403
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19292524
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/acyria/pseuds/stilljunhui
Summary: They say everything ends in the Miroh. For Hwang Hyunjin, it was just the beginning.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by The Maze Runner series and Stray Kids' own music videos! If you don't know anything about The Maze Runner, this will still most likely make sense as long as you've seen the MVs tbh. The ones that influence the plot for this story include: Hellevator, District 9, My Pace, I Am You, Miroh, and Side Effects. You'll see a lot of MV references throughout the story. The Clé series have the biggest influence over everything since this idea was born after watching Side Effects though!

Hwang Hyunjin woke up the first time inside a moving metal box. 

It took a while before his senses caught up to him; the feeling of the hard floor he was lying on,the boxes around him, the cold air, the way everything around him was moving far too quickly for his liking. The only source of light were a bunch of moving numbers on the wall, counting down before ultimately losing its sequence. Below it, Hyunjin could just barely make out what must have been buttons, which led him to realize that he was in an elevator. He tried to remember how exactly he got there, but nothing came to mind.

A sudden sound from the ceiling caught his attention, almost like a spray was being released into the elevator, making him look up. The brunette examined his surroundings some more, before catching on to a tiny dot of red. Was that a camera? Before he could stand up to check, he felt rather than saw the way gas was emitting from the ceiling. Panic swelled up in him as he immediately considered the situation dangerous. 

Trapped in an elevator? Definitely a dangerous situation, his mind supplied. 

The last thing he remembered before passing out again was the sudden lurch of the elevator stopping. 


	2. Chapter 2

When Hyunjin came to his consciousness again, he immediately noticed how his surroundings had changed. Even before opening his eyes, he could feel the warmth around him and the feel of a fresh breeze, coupled with the scent of grass and smoke. In the distance, he could just barely make out the noises he heard. Footsteps and voices were among them, but none that sounded familiar. He tried to think about how he got into that situation to begin with and once again fell short. Almost as if a huge chunk of his memories were missing. 

Frustrated, he opened his eyes and was met with someone staring right at him, causing the brunette to sit up in a rush.

“You’re finally awake,” the other boy said, smiling. He had almost platinum blonde hair, nearing white if anything, and a pale face that just made him stand out against the dark wooden backdrop. They were in a wooden hut, it seemed, as Hyunjin cautiously looked around. He was on a bed, surrounded by other empty beds, a few make shift tables from boxes here and there, and a singular lightbulb in the center of the ceiling. 

“Where am I?” Hyunjin asked, voice slightly hoarse. He didn’t even know how long it’s been since he last spoke. “Who are you?”

“Most of the boys around here calls me Captain,” the blonde introduced himself with a small salute. “But my name is Chan. You’re welcome to call me whichever, shank.”

He looked friendly enough, although there was a nagging feeling at the back of Hyunjin’s head that something was still very wrong. Hyunjin just couldn’t figure out what, exactly. Before he could ask the other boy again about where they were, the door to the hut opened and in stepped a dark-haired boy. The latter had a serious expression on his face as he walked directly up to Chan, seemingly unaware of Hyunjin’s presence.

“Changbin,” Chan greeted with a nod. “Find anything?”

“His box came with the usual,” the other boy said gruffly, glancing at Hyunjin for a split second before keeping his eyes trained on Chan. “There is something else though.”

Changbin handed him a folded slip of paper.

“A note?” The blonde wondered out loud, taking the piece of paper and opening it immediately. He didn’t seem to mind that Hyunjin was right there, openly trying to get a look at what was written as well, instead holding it down so they could all see it. Chan’s eyes skimmed over it once, twice, before frowning and handing the note back to Changbin. “He’s the last one, ever?”

“I showed it to Woojin. He said it might be saying that we’re no longer getting anybody new.”

“And the elevator? It’s still there?”

“It hasn’t gone down yet,” Changbin confirmed.

While the other two conversed, Hyunjin felt his head spinning again. The longer he spent awake, the more questions he had, but it didn’t feel like he was going to get any good news from the answers. At least, as far as he could tell. Sharp pain on the back of his head made the brunette groan out loud and reach for the spot, capturing Chan’s attention once more. He tried to wave off the other boy’s concern, but soon the blonde was telling Changbin to fetch someone named Minho.

“You alright there?”

“Fine,” Hyunjin managed to say, wincing a bit as the pain began to ebb away. “So where am I again? And what’s the deal with the elevator? And being the last one?”

“We’ll get there,” Chan assured him. “But first, what’s your name?”

“Hyunjin,” the brunette answered, thankful he still remembered his name at least. He also stated his age and learned that Chan was older—one of the eldest, along with Woojin, whose name he caught in the conversation earlier. When Chan asked him for any other information he remembered, Hyunjin came up short. Other than a few basics, he didn’t even know where he was from or how he ended up in the elevator that brought him there.

The thought made him momentarily panic again, but Chan soon explained it was normal.

“Every now and then,” the older boy started with a grim expression. “The elevator brings someone along with the monthly supplies of food, clothing, and occasionally medicine if we need it. All of us here—including me, so don’t feel too bad about yourself—don’t remember anything beforehand. We were all just dropped here so we could live here, it seems. That’s how things have been going for us, anyway.”

Hyunjin couldn’t help but ask, “so how long have you been here?”

“Me?” Chan asked with a chuckle, although it was lacking in humour. “I’ve been here for about six years now, give or take, since I was the first one here.”

Six years? The younger boy tried to steel his expression so that his shock wouldn’t be so evident, but he was probably unsuccessful since Chan assured him that it was fine before continuing on. The latter was alone for a few years before Woojin arrived, followed by Changbin shortly after. The rest slowly trickled in until they had a rather large group amongst themselves made up of only boys, all living together in what was dubbed as the District. Before the blonde could continue on, someone entered the hut once more.

“Hyunjin, this is Minho, our resident medic,” Chan introduced, gesturing between the two of them.

“How’s it going, greenie?” Minho greeted casually as he approached. “I’m just going to do a quick check up on you. Headaches?”

The brunette nodded before asking, “is that normal?”

“Quite,” the other boy replied. “It should disappear eventually. Are you feeling anything else? Nausea, nervousness, agitation, maybe?”

“No.”

“Any allergies you remember so we can take note of meal prep?”

“I don’t really remember much, but no,” Hyunjin answered with a slight frown because he did try to think about what he knew about himself, which sounded silly in theory, but he was beginning to think a lot of things weren’t going to make sense from then on. He answered a few more basic questions before Minho deemed him alright, nothing out of the ordinary as far as he could tell. He told Hyunjin to rest some more, but the latter said he’s rested enough.

Chan nodded, “time to show you around then.”

Still trying to keep his headache in check, Hyunjin followed after the older boy as they exited the hut. He wasn’t sure what to expect when he left, but he certainly wasn’t expecting to step out into such a vast patch of land. There were tall walls surrounding them from every side, encapsulating them in an area filled with grass and some forest areas. There were other wooden huts as far as Hyunjin could see. As they walked, Chan explained how things worked around the District with practiced ease.

They all played a role in keeping things going for everybody in the District. It was a one for all, all for one kind of thing. Everybody could help cook, clean, and build. Schedules rotated weekly unless you were given a permanent role, like how Minho and a few others were the only medics, but they help out wherever they could. There were animal pens and farms for food. Most of what they had were built over the years.

“You were there when all this was made?” Hyunjin asked in awe as they passed one of the vegetable farms. “Six years ago? You were so young then.”

“It’s like my survival instincts just kicked in,” the older boy replied with a shrug, before changing the topic. He continued on introducing Hyunjin to the various jobs they have around the District, a few basic rules that include how everything is shared and no one is allowed to fight anybody else. As he said, they’ve all only got each other. As Chan spoke, Hyunjin’s eyes wandered around their surroundings before landing on the stone wall closest to them.

Although he couldn’t see everything else as clearly, he could tell that something was different about that one. For one, there were obvious marks on the wall compared to its smooth surroundings, filled up the center is what looked almost like a large door. The pattern was maze-like in structure and judging by how it covered the entirety of the wall, it didn’t look like it was man-made. There was a sudden silence before Hyunjin realized that Chan had stopped talking.

“That’s the Miroh, but I wouldn’t be so interested in it if I were you,” the blonde said, tone light despite the seriousness underlying his words.

Naturally, that only made Hyunjin all the more curious.

“Why?” He pressed on when Chan didn’t continue. “What’s with it?”

“For starters, you won’t be allowed in there unless you’re a Runner,” Chan said, explaining how only a chosen few ever made it as Runners since that job was the riskiest of them all. Hyunjin’s suspicions were proved right when the older boy explained that it was a door leading to a large maze. It opened at various times in the day, but will always close right as the sun would set. Runners mapped out the entirety of the maze already, but there was no exit, so nobody really knew why it was there.

“All we know for sure is that the Miroh is dangerous,” he continued with a frown. “There are creatures in there. We’re not sure what kind, but a few Runners have seen them once or twice. Those that do encounter them—sorry for being frank—but they’re not with us anymore. At night, when the doors are thankfully closed, we hear them. That’s all I’m going to say so you can experience things yourself. Why ruin the element of surprise that the Miroh will bring, right?”

The words should have scared Hyunjin, but instead, he found himself still staring at the closed doors.

“Can I be a Runner?” He asked when they were walking back towards the main center of the District, nearly bumping into Chan when the older boy paused in his steps.

“Did you hear nothing from what I just said?”

“I heard you,” Hyunjin replied. “It’s just that—“

“No arguments, greenie,” Chan interrupted, voice stern. Suddenly the younger boy knew why the other gained the nickname Captain; the warm, friendly boy who greeted him earlier and showed him around was replaced by someone with a serious gaze and set jaw. “You just got here, Hyunjin. There are a lot of things you don’t know about the Miroh. Things you shouldn’t _want_ to know, do you understand? We’ve lost good men in there. It’s not a simple maze.”

The brunette felt small despite being a good few inches taller.

“Got it, Captain.”

The older boy’s gaze softened at Hyunjin’s sudden timid state, before shaking his head, a heavy sigh escaping his lips. Chan beckoned the other boy to continue walking with him and soon, they found themselves inside another hut. This one wasn’t empty, but instead was filled with boys bustling around, the sound of loud chattering and dishes being set up clear throughout the mess. It was a good change of pace considering Hyunjin’s only been with Chan this whole time.

“Go talk to the rest of the boys,” Chan said with a grin. “I have to go find Woojin.”

With that, Hyunjin was left to stand alone awkwardly in the midst of all the chaos. It seemed to him like dinner preparations were underway, judging by how someone was yelling about not having enough potatoes to go with the soup. He didn’t realize how many other boys were around, but now that he tried to figure it out, he lost count soon since everybody kept moving. Shortly after, someone finally approached him.

“You’re the latest greenie, right?” 

His blonde hair was darker than Chan’s, matching the tan on his face and the liberal amount of freckles that dusted his cheeks. If it weren’t for his deep voice, Hyunjin would have immediately assumed the other boy was a child, but after a quick round of introductions learned that his name was Felix, along with how they were the same age. Felix was part of meal duty for the month, he announced, before asking whether Hyunjin wanted to join them.

“I guess,” the brunette replied, although his mind was still thinking about being a Runner. 

“No need to worry about knowing how to cook or not,” Felix said cheerily. “We all knew nothing, but now we make pretty good food, if I say so myself.”

It was weird hearing someone talk about losing memory as if it was a light matter, but Hyunjin soon realized that it was the only way to make matters seem better in the end. He would get nothing out of stressing over the situation, after all. Everything was explained to him straightforwardly. His life was now going to be spent in the District. He was just going to have to get used to everything and hope for the best.

**Author's Note:**

> twt / cc / ko-fi: @stilljunhui


End file.
